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My Notes

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This image courtesy of Joseph DeLeo

Acorn squash is a beautiful thing. All you have to do is cut it up and throw it in the oven to roast. About an hour later you get something rich and delicate that is the perfect side for almost any main course you can think of. I leave the rind on because it makes a natural bowl for the tender squash flesh; also, the dark green of the rind looks really sharp against the orange-yellow flesh. The sage and butter perfectly complement the richness of the squash.

Makes12 Servings

Cooking Methodbaking

CostInexpensive

Total Timeunder 1 hour

Make Ahead RecipeYes

OccasionBuffet, Casual Dinner Party

Dietary Considerationvegetarian

Equipmentbaking/gratin dish

Five Ingredients or LessYes

Taste and Texturebuttery, herby, rich, savory, sweet

Type of Dishvegetable

Ingredients

2 acorn squash (about 2 ½ pounds each)

Salt

4 tablespoons butter, melted

About 20 fresh sage leaves

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut each squash lengthwise through the stem into 8 wedges. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds from the wedges.

Arrange the squash pieces on a big baking pan or your broiler pan, skin side down, and season the flesh generously with salt. Drizzle the butter over the flesh and scatter the sage leaves all over. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and cook for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil and roast until you can easily pierce a piece of the squash with a fork and meet almost no resistance, about 20 minutes. Serve as is, shriveled sage leaves and all.

You can bake the squash up to a few hours in advance. Reheat for about 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 350°F before serving.

Really nice recipe. It mirrors my own treatment of acorn though I like it best when it's halved and baked -- even (quicker) in the microwave. As for the sage, ever since I lived in Tuscany I've sauteed fresh sage to a crisp before adding it. Butter, usually. Then if you're still in the mood for an acorn squash but want something fattier and more substantial (a whole meal-in-one), stuff the halved baked or microwaved acorn with half a cup of crisp sage leaves with sauteed Italian pork sausage meat-- the freshly-made, sausage meat lots of good markets are selling these days.